Finally, Healthcare Data That Works for Employers 

If you are serious about healthcare affordability, you need to recognize where most Americans actually get their insurance: More than 165 million people get their coverage through their employer, and employers spend nearly $1 trillion annually to provide it. 

For three consecutive years, employers’ family premiums have risen 6% or more, the first time that’s happened in two decades. Early signs point to an even steeper climb in 2026. The cost curve continues to bend in the wrong direction.

Employers absorb these annual increases and share the pain with their workers through lower wages, higher premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs. 

Despite their central role as purchasers of health insurance, most employers have no way of knowing whether the prices they pay are competitive with other plans in the market. They don’t know whether the providers they cover are delivering high-quality care. And they can’t tell whether their vendors are effectively negotiating on their behalf. 

Last year, the Peterson Center on Healthcare funded a data demonstration project in which the Purchaser Business Group on Health worked with five major employers, including Qualcomm, Boeing, and the City and County of Denver, to combine price transparency data, employer claims data, and independent quality and safety ratings. 

The results were shocking and motivating. They found major price variations across providers for the same procedures, and they saw inflated prices in their networks compared to others. They identified markets in which popular, high-cost providers had the lowest quality and safety ratings. Every employer was able to identify savings opportunities. 

At PHTI, we’ve seen what happens when employers have clear, independent evidence to guide their purchasing decisions: they make smarter decisions. Vendors respond. The market starts delivering what it always promised: better outcomes at lower costs.

For years, employers have been asking for that same rigorous data and analysis to inform the rest of their healthcare purchasing — the medical benefit that drives the bulk of spending. 

That’s why I am so excited to share that Peterson Philanthropies has committed $50 million to launch Peterson Health Analytics (PHA), giving employers independent, actionable data they need to take greater control of their healthcare spending and purchase more affordable, higher quality care for millions of employees and their families. PHA’s work is a practical step toward improving affordability in U.S. healthcare and the lives of all Americans.

Creating change in employer benefits is hard. I am thrilled that the fearless Cora Opsahl will lead PHA and show all employers that better healthcare at lower costs is possible. 

Peterson Health Analytics has been built with employers, for employers — without financial ties to health plans, health systems, or benefits consultants. That independence is exactly what employers have been missing. PHA is proud to partner with leading benefit coalitions: Purchaser Business Group on Health and National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. 

Employers are the largest purchasers of healthcare coverage in this country. When they have the right data, they can bend the cost curve and deliver better healthcare for all.